VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — After a recent high-profile incident that gathered national attention involving spring break rowdiness on their beaches, the Volusia County Sheriff's Department in Florida took a proactive move last weekend, which led to the arrest of an Ohio man who killed his infant son in 2015 and was wanted for a parole violation.
"We had a huge surge of deputies that were assigned to the coastal district that we have, which includes Daytona Beach, in anticipation of another large unruly crowd," said Chief Deputy Brian Henderson. "So both the sheriff and I were out there with our deputies patrolling, and that's when we came across this guy."
He was seated next to another person on a seawall who was drinking from a whiskey bottle.
"So we arrested the one individual for the open container and asked this guy his name," Henderson said.
The man was Anthony Benjamin Grove, who in February of 2015 was arrested for the death of his infant son. Police say Grove got into a fight with the baby's mother and threw a ceramic coffee mug, missing her and hitting his 2-month-old in the head. The child died the next day at Akron Children's Hospital.
Grove pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to eight years in prison. While he was released in 2023, he was wanted for violating his parole and considered dangerous and possibly armed when he was picked up in Florida.
Henderson told News 5 he was making small talk with Grove while they ran a background check.
"I asked him if he had any kids, generally as an ice breaker when you're kind of trying to figure out someone," said Henderson. "And he said, 'Yeah, I had two kids, and one passed away.' So I showed him some sympathy about 'Man, I'm really sorry to hear that.' Well, he left out obviously one of the big parts."
"As a father, that really pissed me off that some guy would try to get sympathy from a stranger over the loss of his child, knowing that he is the reason his child is dead," he said.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office posted the arrest on social media, even using a clip from our 2015 story, to send a message.
"I'm going to speak for all of the Floridians, we don't want child murderers in our state, and we definitely don't want child murderers from another state," said Henderson, who admits he was stunned to learn of Grove's 2015 plea deal.
"The Ohio Justice System failed to hold this guy appropriately accountable; he should be in prison for the rest of his life," said Henderson. "I don't care what the facts and circumstances are—he killed an infant. And he definitely shouldn't be hanging out on our beach."
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is working with Ohio on the extradition process, which goes through the governor's office. News 5 reached out to Governor DeWine's office to learn about the next steps and the potential time Grove could face. The Department of Correction and Rehabilitation told us it is investigating the matter.
